Scott Tibbs
blog post
November 30th, 2005
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The Indianapolis Welfare Queens (also known as the Indianapolis Colts) defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers to go to 11-0. Now the Welfare Queens have an opportunity to be the first unbeaten team since the 1972 Miami Dolphins, although they might not go for the record because they want to keep the players healthy for the playoffs.
With or without the starters sitting on the bench, I won't be cheering them on. The Welfare Queens convinced state government to allow them to fleece Hoosier taxpayers in the form of a Food and Beverage Tax earlier this year.
It would be nice to be able to root for the hometown team. It would be nice to see Payton Manning win a Super Bowl ring to go along with his individual accomplishments; there is no doubt he is one of the best quarterbacks in NFL history. Manning is a lock for the Hall of Fame. I cannot, however, root for a team that is determined to take money out of the taxpayers' collective wallets, and threatened to leave Indiana if they did not get their way. Since the Welfare Queens have displayed a lack of loyalty to Indiana, I do not have loyalty to them.
Yes, there are a lot of pro sports teams that gladly accept corporate welfare. That does not, however, make it right. Every person that goes to a restaurant around Indianapolis, whether they enjoy football or not, will now pay a little bit more. Millionaires and billionaires acted like children, threatening to take their ball and go elsewhere if they did not get what they wanted. I say the legislature should have called their bluff.
See previous posts from January and June of this year.